Side Story 4

"Finished! Is Tianxing Province truly destined to escape this calamity today? If even Tianxing Province is destroyed, then the Twin-Sun Continent is dead as well!"

"Why? Why must Anti-Tianxing slaughter all of us? We only wanted to live peaceful lives!"

"Better a dog in times of peace than a man in times of chaos. Yet Anti-Tianxing doesn't even grant us the chance to be dogs; they want the lives of every living soul across the continent!"

"The Tianxing Swordsman has appeared, so we still have hope! He will surely defeat Anti-Tianxing, and the light will triumph over the darkness! It certainly will!"

"Can he win? Even Master Tianxing is dead. Can a single Tianxing Swordsman possibly withstand the two emperors of Anti-Tianxing?"

"That's right, didn't the Tianxing Swordsmen utterly perish over twenty years ago? Yet why has such a young Tianxing appeared now? Could it be that the Tianxing bloodline is not yet extinct, or that some Tianxing Masters still live? If so, why haven't they shown themselves when the world is about to end?"

"Master Tianxing must truly be dead. This young Tianxing swordsman is likely the Master's final disciple, the last Tianxing Swordsman!"

"Master Baixuan... Ah, he was the sole sage of the entire continent. Could someone like him, the closest mortal to the gods, really die? It's unimaginable that a sage possessing such formidable power, an ancient immortal who lived for thousands of years, could ultimately fail to escape death. It seems the great Tianxing catastrophe from over twenty years ago truly had far too profound an impact, altering the destiny of the Twin-Sun Continent for tens of millions of years."

"Who can deny it? Such a fine world is now reduced to cosmic dust. Anti-Tianxing is committing a monstrous sin."

Everyone was discussing the crisis, most of them long since driven to despair. The sea of crimson lightning hanging overhead inspired hopelessness—it was a divine cataclysm, how could mortal beings possibly resist it? In the past, Master Tianxing would have led numerous Tianxing Swordsmen to save the world and fight against the darkness, but now there was nothing left. All they could do was... wait for death!

"No, it won't happen! The Tianxing Swordsman will surely win! I believe in him, and you should believe in him too, shouldn't you?" Suddenly, a boy's voice rang out amidst the crowd. It was none other than the child whom Jiuyun had rescued earlier.

"During the battle just now, the Tianxing Swordsman was clearly stronger than the Anti-Tianxing Monarch. He can defeat the Monarch, and he can defeat the Great Emperor as well! He will let the Twin-Sun Continent see the sun again, and we must all believe in the Tianxing Swordsman. The Tianxing Swordsman is the guardian deity of the Twin-Sun Continent!" the boy shouted with his youthful voice.

"Go, Tianxing Swordsman! Defeat the Anti-Tianxing Monarch, I believe in you!"

This single cry unexpectedly evoked deep resonance among many, especially the other children. Like the boy, they all worshipped the legends of the Tianxing Swordsmen.

"Go for it, Tianxing Swordsman! You are the best!"

"Fight hard, Tianxing Swordsman! Vanquish the darkness, don't lose!"

"He will win! He will definitely win! The Tianxing Swordsman will triumph! Hang in there!"

Cries of encouragement rose and fell, resembling a cheering squad, yet this squad was far more solemn and sincere, voicing the deepest yearnings of their hearts.

"I believe it too! Justice will ultimately prevail over evil. Go, Tianxing Swordsman!"

"I had almost forgotten. Wasn't my childhood ambition to become a Tianxing Swordsman as well? So, fight on, Tianxing Swordsman! You are the hope of all living beings!"

"May Xuan energy be with you and us!"

The children's shouts moved the surrounding youths to tears, stirring a multitude of emotions within them. Indeed, they too had once been childish and naive, idolizing the Tianxing Swordsman. Why should they stop trusting their idol now? Their idol was right there before them, fighting the darkness; how could they compromise with fate?

Gradually, the voices of doubt diminished. The "cheering squad" grew larger, and the shouts of encouragement roared like mountains and seas. The arks in the sky, the arks on the earth, and all living souls surged with confidence. A slogan upholding their inner faith silently echoed in every heart and upon every lip.

"Go, Tianxing Swordsman!"

It sounded like a declaration, a prophecy. Countless living beings uttering it simultaneously mysteriously coalesced into an energy that surged toward the white-robed figure at the center of the battlefield.

Jiuyun, who had been staring intently at Yang Xuanxiao and the sea of bloody lightning above, suddenly felt a wave of confusion. He sensed boundless, mysterious energy sweeping in from all directions across heaven and earth. Like golden data streams, they merged into an ebb and flow of energy rushing toward him. He could feel that this unfamiliar energy was unlike anything he had ever contacted before, and it blended harmoniously with the Xuan energy within his body without the slightest repulsion, instantly filling his entire being like a parched pond replenished with living water.

Power! Mighty power! At this moment, Jiuyun even had a strange sensation; he felt as though he could cleave the sea of thunder above into ashes with a single sword strike.

"Vanished into nothingness, Tianxing Province!"

Yang Xuanxiao gazed coldly at the earth below. The long sword raised high in his hand suddenly swept downward. The sea of bloody lightning, as if receiving an order, plummeted rumblingly toward the land of Tianxing Province, covering a thousand miles in a single second with extreme downward speed.

"I will never let you succeed!" Jiuyun pointed his sword toward the firmament and leaped directly into the high heavens, accelerating continuously as he charged straight up into the clouds.

Gale-force winds buffeted Jiuyun's robes as they snapped loudly in the air, leaving behind only a blurred silhouette for the world to see. The living beings on the earth below saw him only as a soaring bird defying the vast sky, ascending higher and higher until he vanished from sight. Yet this very silhouette became a hero in everyone's hearts—a figure bearing the hopes of all mortal beings!

The golden long sword emitted the roars of dragons and phoenixes, resounding across the nine heavens. White-robed Jiuyun was now less than two thousand miles away from the sea of thunder above. It was time to draw his sword.

"This strike is a blow forged from the combined strength of all living beings. Its name is—Sword Sweeping the Firmament!"

Jiuyun gripped his sword with both hands and declared war upon the heavens. The sea of thunder surged furiously toward him, yet the brilliant radiance of the Dayang Longque in his grasp shone brighter and more magnificent than the sun itself.

All living beings of heaven and earth watched the lone man and his sword!

Lightning flashed and thundered, unleashing countless layers of electrostatic impact. In the eyes of everyone, this was the manifestation of a world-destroying divine might—who could possibly endure it? Yet now, the apocalyptic lightning above their heads was actually collapsing. Every single arc of blood-red lightning, powerful enough to shatter mountains, had its immense destructive energy entirely erased by the golden sword light in a split second. Immediately following that, the blade sliced open the gloomy sky canopy shrouding the firmament, sending sword qi sweeping across a hundred thousand miles. Like a golden thread piercing through the vast expanse of the cosmos, it swept away the dark Xuan energy barrier imprisoning Tianxing Province with unstoppable force.

In just a few breaths' time, the living beings on the earth below truly beheld the twin suns of the past. Light returned to the land, and the long-lost sunlight even caused many to feel temporarily unaccustomed. Everyone truly realized the importance of cherishing that which was once the most ordinary yet vital thing of all.

A lone man and his sword confronting overwhelming thunder might! What had initially seemed like a meaningless suicide mission had now reversed entirely. The inner faith of the people was finally and fully transmitted to Jiuyun; he had not let them down, and he had truly done it!

Cheers, shouts, and applause erupted. Great sorrow was followed by great joy; just a moment ago they had been worrying for their very lives, but now they were heartily exulting. Victory was such a wonderfully intoxicating stimulant.

"Little brat, don't rejoice too soon! You have ruined my plans, and this Emperor shall have you die without a burial place!" Suddenly, an angry roar resounded from deep within the earth of Tianxing Province, resembling the demonic voice of the underworld.

"Oh no, it's the Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing! He's about to burst forth from the earth; Jiuyun, come back quickly!" Yanhji was utterly shocked on the spot. She had once witnessed the methods of the Anti-Tianxing Great Emperor; his might was simply inhuman, and even she, a demon monarch, had been played in the palm of his hand.

High in the air, upon hearing this, Jiuyun quickly descended. Utilizing his Xuan energy for swift transit, he landed safely on the earth in mere seconds.

"Father, turn back! What is the use of destroying this world? Mother cannot return, and past regrets cannot be mended. The most important thing in a person's life is to look forward. Do you understand?" Standing side by side with Yanhji, Jiuyun looked up at the disheartened Yang Xuanxiao in the sky. The latter had been rendered extremely weak because his sea of bloody lightning was broken by Jiuyun. He swayed precariously in mid-air, resembling a kite with a snapped string.

"There is no turning back. I have long since grown utterly despairing of this world. You cannot stop the Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing; his current realm is that of a True God, capable of traveling ten thousand miles in a single breath. Even if Baixuan were to appear, he would be powerless to reverse this!" Yang Xuanxiao gave a bitter smile and then plummeted straight downward.

Seeing this, Jiuyun flew over hurriedly to catch his biological father. He could tell that although he had destroyed the sea of bloody lightning, his father was not angry; instead, a hint of gratification and release seemed to have crept in. In his current state, anyone could tell that his father was seeking death.

Yang Xuanxiao had already dissipated all his Xuan energy—a conscious choice to sever the connection between his Xuan energy and himself. The outcome of doing such a thing had only one end: to be beaten to death by gravity!

*Whoosh.* Jiuyun moved with immense speed, grabbing Yang Xuanxiao with one hand and utilizing Xuan energy to ensure they both landed safely on the ground. How could a son watch his father fall to his death before his very eyes?

"I no longer wish to live. Furthermore, the Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing will soon burst through the surface, and by then none will escape death. Why bother saving me?" Yang Xuanxiao said weakly and powerlessly.

"With me here, he cannot destroy Tianxing Province! I will definitely defeat him." Jiuyun clenched his fists.

"It's useless. Judging by the sword strike you just executed, you are at best on par with Baixuan. It is simply impossible for you to reach the realm of traveling ten thousand miles in a single breath in such a short time. That is the True God realm that all Xuan practitioners throughout the ages have yearned to step into. The Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing has plotted for a millennium, stealing the yin-yang creation of the twin suns and the Twin-Sun Continent to barely succeed. An entity of this caliber can no longer be challenged by mortals." Yang Xuanxiao shook his head, stating the severity of the situation to Jiuyun.

"Man can conquer the heavens. So what if he is a True God? I shall engage in god-slaying, and use his blood as a sacrifice to honor all the fallen Tianxing Swordsmen and countless living souls." Jiuyun steeled his resolve.

However, Yanhji chimed in with concern, "While you say that, the Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing truly possesses a might beyond your comprehension. We cannot clash with him head-on."

"Rest assured, I won't act recklessly. The most urgent task now is to evacuate the people on the flying arks. They are innocent, and the impending battle will inevitably affect them. Your task is to help them evacuate." Jiuyun shifted his gaze into the distance. The people under the sunlight were still unaware of the unprecedented cataclysm about to unfold; they had to be made to leave Tianxing Province as soon as possible.

Yang Xuanxiao gave Jiuyun a deep look, nodded, and said, "Very well. I will safely escort all living souls of Tianxing Province away. This is a father's promise to his son."

"Father... Thank you!" Jiuyun froze for a moment, then smiled faintly.

For the first time, Yang Xuanxiao revealed a sincere smile. "I may fail the entire world, but I cannot fail my own son."

Seeing this father-and-son interaction, Yanhji sensibly walked away. She dashed toward a specific location and unleashed unfathomable divine might to transfer a flying arks far away to another continent outside the boundaries of Tianxing Province.

Time was of the essence; they had to evacuate everyone before the Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing launched an all-out war.

Yet another difficult problem remained: how vast and boundless the land of Tianxing Province was! Aside from the people aboard the arks, there were many others who had not boarded them, scattered across various locations and far too difficult to relocate.

*Boom!*

The earth split open, producing a massive fissure that continued to spread, as though aiming to reach the very ends of the earth.

From within the chasm, an immensely colossal dark shadow rose amidst billowing fog, resembling a demon god descending into the mortal realm. Even mountains struggled to describe its magnificent stature.

*Whoosh!* The sound of air being rent echoed as a lone man and his sword descended with the momentum of wind and thunder, planting himself firmly before the dark shadow. His upright figure stood like a spear driven into the earth, immovable as a mountain.

Simultaneously, Anti-Tianxing Monarch Yang Xuanxiao retreated at extreme speed. As he retreated, he transmitted his voice to Yanhji: "Leave the people on the arks to you. I will use my Xuan energy to evacuate all remaining intelligent life forms of Tianxing Province in one go."

Hearing this, Yanhji's delicate brows furrowed deeply. She looked at Yang Xuanxiao, then cast a glance at Jiuyun in the distance. Tentatively, she asked Yang Xuanxiao, "Does Jiuyun know you're planning to do this? Are you certain you can endure such a massive relocation? It could very well exhaust you to death!"

Yang Xuanxiao sighed softly. "Don't ask. Just do as I say."

Following that, Yang Xuanxiao sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands weaving seals at lightning speed. Blood actually began to ooze from the center of his brow, turning into a steady stream within seconds. Then, Yang Xuanxiao slammed his palms against the ground, and a black rune formation spread outward from his hands at an astonishing speed. Viewed from the sky, the rune formation resembled a spider weaving a web, completely blanketing the entire Tianxing Province like a dense seal.

"Xuan energy resonance, massive relocation activated!"

Yang Xuanxiao chanted obscure incantations silently, and the black rune array instantly glowed with a dark light. At this moment, countless specks of light lit up across the Tianxing Province covered by the array. Those points of light were the auras of Xuan energy within living bodies—though limited strictly to intelligent life forms. Otherwise, since all things possessed Xuan energy—every stone, every ant, every blade of grass—attempting to transfer them would be tantamount to relocating the entirety of Tianxing Province itself.

This world was destined to be unfair; Yang Xuanxiao's Xuan energy resonance could only be sensed by intelligent life forms such as humans, demons, dwarves, elves, and so forth. Even fierce beasts and flying birds could not be carried away, because the crucial distinction between intelligent life and other beings lay in the potent, latent potential of the Xuan energy within their bodies, capable of geometric leaps. Unlike other living and non-living entities whose Xuan energy remained fixed or subject to very limited fluctuation, intelligent beings could transcend.

Large-scale Xuan energy relocation required extremely formidable cultivation. Once activated, it would act like a water pump, drawing the Xuan energy directly out of living bodies to fuel this massive energy output.

At this very moment, Yang Xuanxiao's entire body glowed, shining as dazzlingly as the sun, while the rune array glowed in resonance with the Xuan energy of countless intelligent life forms. Specks of starlight dotted every corner of the rune array, resembling a sea of stars in the night sky.

However, a bizarre phenomenon ensued: the radiance emanating from Yang Xuanxiao began to dim rapidly. From its initial glorious splendor, it suddenly faded, until finally only faint traces of dim light remained. Everything happened so quickly that people had no time to react.

Once Yanhji had finished relocating all the flying arks, she rushed to Yang Xuanxiao's side immediately, frantically channeling Xuan energy into him to infuse a sliver of spirit back into the wilted Yang Xuanxiao.

"Mission accomplished! All intelligent life forms have been transferred to regions outside Tianxing Province. I have fulfilled my promise to my son." Yang Xuanxiao's eyes grew turbid and his body limp, yet he struggled to lift his eyelids for one last glimpse of the young white-robed figure in the distance.

"Do you... have anything else you'd like to say to Jiuyun? I can pass it along for you," Yanhji asked tentatively, her red lips parting slightly.

Coughing up blood from all seven facial orifices, his entire face smeared with crimson, Yang Xuanxiao spoke slowly and feebly: "Just tell him that I, as a father, failed in my duty and am sorry for him... Never mind, don't say it. Having committed so many wrongs, what words are left for me to speak? Young lady, I must trouble you to take good care of this son of mine from now on."

Yanhji nodded heavily. "I promise you, Father!"

"Good, good daughter-in-law, good son, good..." Yang Xuanxiao laughed heartily and closed his eyes.

On the other side, the colossal dark shadow finally assumed its true form—a giant standing one hundred thousand miles tall! No wonder everyone in Tianxing Province had to be evacuated; a single footprint from this giant would likely shake the province to its very foundations!

The giant wore black armor, looking like a towering dark general. He stood tall and upright, his arms like mountain ranges and his legs like pillars supporting the heavens. Merely standing there was enough to instill infinite terror in his opponents. After all, nobody had ever seen an enemy of such immense proportions; even demon monarchs like Yanhji revealed true forms merely mountain-high. An entity of the Anti-Tianxing Great Emperor's scale likely had no peer throughout the world, especially since this was his true physical form.

Relying on the supreme-yang Xuan energy of the twin suns and the supreme-yin Xuan energy cultivated beneath the Twin-Sun Continent, the two forces had fused, merging yin and yang into one. At this moment, he was the sole True God between heaven and earth!

"With a body that large, his speed must be sluggish!" Jiuyun muttered to himself. The Xuan light sword in his hand spat out sword radiance, turning into a thousand-mile sword qi that swept horizontally across one of the giant's arms.

Only upon testing it did he realize how terribly wrong he was. The giant's massive hand seemed endowed with eyes and moved with incomparable swiftness. Jiuyun only felt a gale roaring to sweep him away—actually generated by the sheer speed of the hand displacing air. The massive palm rose high and slammed down heavily onto the thousand-mile sword qi. Successive rumbling explosions echoed as the giant hand continued downward, striking directly toward the earth below.

*Boom!*

The earth caved in, mountains collapsed, surface fissures spread outward, and hot magma erupted from deep underground. A massive palm print was deeply imprinted upon land spanning thousands of miles. A torrent of flames rolled and surged; indeed, it was a thousand miles of scorched earth without a single blade of grass left alive.

"Such terrifying destructive power," Jiuyun murmured with a frown, feeling his own body tremble—an instinctive physiological fear.

Like a mortal ant facing a heavenly dragon, the power he wielded was a joke in the eyes of his opponent!

"Tianxing brat, you fall far too short. Forget defeating me; you can't even withstand a single punch of mine," the Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing proclaimed aloud.

Heaven and earth resounded; merely a single sentence could be clearly heard in every corner of Tianxing Province.

Jiuyun soared into the high heavens, leveling his gaze with the giant.

"Then you underestimate me far too much! Forget one punch, I can take ten!" Jiuyun declared.

*Boom!* The void shook violently as a pitch-black arm tore through the cosmos, causing sonic booms. This clearly far exceeded the speed of sound.

Jiuyun's expression remained unchanged. The long sword in his hand emitted the roars of dragons and phoenixes. In an instant, a true dragon and a phoenix actually flew forth from the blade.

"Kill!"

Sword qi crisscrossed as dragons and phoenixes roared. The long sword slipped from Jiuyun's grip, intertwined with the dragon and phoenix while carrying Xuan energy imbued with the four attributes of thunder, lightning, light, and fire. Viewed from the ground, it resembled a heaven-shocking rainbow spanning the firmament—a spectacle of ancient, rare magnificence.

*Bang!* Fist and sword collided, weaving a dazzling brilliance that pierced the daytime light, like two suns crashing together and exploding.

Circular ripples undulated across the void. The radius of the shockwave shocked regions far beyond Tianxing Province; people in several neighboring provinces witnessed the rumbling ripples and the violent aerial explosions overhead. And that was just in the neighboring provinces—the skies above Tianxing Province were already cataclysmic, the space so intensely unstable that people cried out in terror, wondering if an apocalyptic catastrophe was at hand. On this day, countless living beings raised their heads to gaze toward Tianxing Province, shocked by the thunderous roars while gradually realizing the advent of the calamity.

The people aboard the flying arks transmitted news to the outside world instantly: The Great Emperor of Anti-Tianxing had appeared to annihilate Tianxing Province, and the Tianxing Swordsman was fighting desperately to the death. This battle concerned the survival of the entire world!

Victory meant life! Defeat meant death!